Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program: Background and Issues for Congress Updated September 30, 2021 Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov RL33745 SUMMARY RL33745 Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) September 30, 2021 Program: Background and Issues for Congress Ronald O'Rourke The Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, which is carried out by the Missile Defense Specialist in Naval Affairs Agency (MDA) and the Navy, gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. BMD-capable Aegis ships operate in European waters to defend Europe from potential ballistic missile attacks from countries such as Iran, and in in the Western Pacific and the Persian Gulf to provide regional defense against potential ballistic missile attacks from countries such as North Korea and Iran. MDA’s FY2022 budget submission states that “by the end of FY 2022 there will be 48 total BMDS [BMD system] capable ships requiring maintenance support.” The Aegis BMD program is funded mostly through MDA’s budget. The Navy’s budget provides additional funding for BMD-related efforts. MDA’s proposed FY2021 budget requested a total of $1,647.9 million (i.e., about $1.6 billion) in procurement and research and development funding for Aegis BMD efforts, including funding for two Aegis Ashore sites in Poland and Romania. MDA’s budget also includes operations and maintenance (O&M) and military construction (MilCon) funding for the Aegis BMD program. Issues for Congress regarding the Aegis BMD program include the following: whether to approve, reject, or modify MDA’s annual procurement and research and development funding requests for the program; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the execution of Aegis BMD program efforts; what role, if any, the Aegis BMD program should play in defending the U.S. homeland against attack from ICBMs; required numbers of BMD-capable Aegis ships versus available numbers of BMD-capable Aegis ships; the burden that BMD operations may be placing on the Navy’s fleet of Aegis ships, and whether there are alternative ways to perform BMD missions now performed by U.S. Navy Aegis ships, such as establishing more Aegis Ashore sites; allied burden sharing—how allied contributions to regional BMD capabilities and operations compare to U.S. naval contributions to overseas regional BMD capabilities and operations; whether to procure and install an Aegis Ashore system on Guam; whether to convert the Aegis test facility in Hawaii into an operational land-based Aegis BMD site; the potential for ship-based lasers to contribute in coming years to Navy terminal-phase BMD operations and the impact this might eventually have on required numbers of ship-based BMD interceptor missiles; and technical risk and test and evaluation issues in the Aegis BMD program. Congressional Research Service Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Background.................................................................................................................... 1 Aegis Ships .............................................................................................................. 1 Ticonderoga (CG-47) Class Aegis Cruisers............................................................... 1 Arleigh Burke (DDG-51) Class Aegis Destroyers ...................................................... 1 Aegis Ships in Allied Navies .................................................................................. 2 Aegis BMD System ................................................................................................... 2 Versions and Capabilities of Aegis BMD System....................................................... 2 Aegis BMD Interceptor Missiles............................................................................. 4 Numbers of BMD-Capable Aegis Ships ........................................................................ 5 BMD-Capable Aegis Destroyers Forward-Homeported in Spain ....................................... 5 Aegis Ashore Sites..................................................................................................... 6 Two Navy-Operated Sites in Romania and Poland ..................................................... 6 Navy Interest in Divesting Aegis Ashore Sites It Operates .......................................... 7 Japan Planned and Later Canceled Two Sites ............................................................ 8 Aegis BMD Development Philosophy and Flight Tests.................................................... 9 Allied Participation and Interest in Aegis BMD Program ............................................... 10 Japan ................................................................................................................ 10 South Korea ...................................................................................................... 11 Other Countries.................................................................................................. 11 FY2022 MDA Procurement and R&D Funding ............................................................ 11 Issues for Congress ....................................................................................................... 12 Annual Funding Request........................................................................................... 12 COVID-19 Impact ................................................................................................... 12 Potential for Intercepting ICBMs ............................................................................... 12 Required vs. Available Numbers of BMD-Capable Aegis Ships ...................................... 15 Burden of BMD Mission on U.S. Navy Aegis Ships...................................................... 16 Allied Burden Sharing: U.S. vs. Allied Contributions to Regional BMD Capabilities ......... 19 Potential Aegis Ashore Site on Guam.......................................................................... 20 Conversion of Hawaii Aegis Test Site ......................................................................... 26 Potential Contribution from Lasers ............................................................................. 26 Technical Risk and Test and Evaluation Issues ............................................................. 27 July 2020 GAO Report........................................................................................ 27 January 2021 DOT&E Report .............................................................................. 29 Legislative Activity for FY2022 ...................................................................................... 30 Summary of Action on FY2022 MDA Funding Request ................................................ 30 FY2022 National Defense Authorization Act (H.R. 4350/S. 2792)................................... 31 House ............................................................................................................... 31 Senate .............................................................................................................. 33 FY2022 DOD Appropriations Act (H.R. 4432) ............................................................. 34 House ............................................................................................................... 34 Figures Figure 1. GAO Summary of Capabilities of Aegis BMD System Variants ................................ 3 Congressional Research Service Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program Tables Table 1. FY2021-FY2025 MDA Procurement and R&D Funding for Aegis BMD Efforts ........ 11 Table 2. Summary of Congressional Action on FY2022 MDA Funding Request ..................... 31 Table A-1. Reported Aegis BMD Flight Tests From January 2002 to the Present ..................... 35 Appendixes Appendix. Reported Aegis BMD Flight Tests .................................................................... 35 Contacts Author Information ....................................................................................................... 37 Congressional Research Service Navy Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (BMD) Program Introduction This report provides background information and issues for Congress on the Aegis ballistic missile defense (BMD) program, a program carried out by the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) and the Navy that gives Navy Aegis cruisers and destroyers a capability for conducting BMD operations. The issue for Congress is whether to approve, reject, or modify Department of Defense (DOD) acquisition strategies and proposed funding levels for the Aegis BMD program. Congress’s decisions on the Aegis BMD program could significantly affect U.S. BMD capabilities and funding requirements, and the BMD-related industrial base. Background Aegis Ships All but three of the Navy’s cruisers and destroyers are called Aegis ships because they are equipped with the Aegis ship combat system—an integrated collection of sensors, computers, software, displays, weapon launchers, and weapons named for the mythological shield that defended Zeus. (The exceptions are the Navy’s three Zumwalt [DDG-1000] class destroyers, which are discussed below.) The Aegis system was originally developed in the 1970s for defending ships against aircraft, anti-ship cruise missiles (ASCMs), surface threats, and subsurface threats. The system